Process and apparatus for conditioning air and other gases



M. M. JALMA PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR AND OTHER GASES Oct. 8, 1940.

Filed Sept. 7. 1937 armad /2i:

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 8, 1940 PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITI ON- ING AIR AND OTHER GASES I Michael M. Jalma, New York, N. Y.

Application September 7, 1937, Serial No. 162,708

2 Claims. This invention relates in general to air conditioning, and in particular to a process and apparatus for conditioning chambers in which part or all of the contained air is recirculated.

Heretofore in air conditioning it has been customary to pass the conditioned air once only through the chamber to be conditioned and then to exhaust the air to the atmosphere. As a result of this practise, the efliciency of the heat exchange has been materially decreased due to the great loss in the exhausted air and the necessity of re-conditioning a large quantity of fresh air.

One reason for the above practice lies in the fact that the air once passed through the chamber has been found ladenwithmalodorous gases and excessive moisture. This is especially true in chambers used for the refrigeration of fd,the gas picking up the odors of the various foods'and moisture resulting from the evaporation of water from exposed food surfaces. To recirculate such air usually results in the contamination of one foodstuff by the odors from another foodstuff. Further, if the cooling means is located within the chamber, the moisture in the air condenses on the L cooling means and interferes with its efficient operation. a

Therefore, it is a general object of the present invention to provide means for conditioning air with respect to odor as well as with respect to l humidity and temperature.

It is a specific object to provide a process for conditioning air in chambers in which the air is intended to be recirculated.

It is another specific object to provide a process and an apparatus for conditioning and recirculating air in chambers designed for the refrigeration of food.

Other objects of the invention willin part be- .obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

. According to the invention, a ,food storage chamber in a refrigerator may be effectively airconditioned by circulating the air through a dehumidifier, a deodorizer, a heat-exchanger and then through the chamber. The apparatus of the invention comprises broadly, the combination of, means for forming a current of the air to be conditioned, means for adjusting the humidity thereof, means for removing odor therefrom, means for adjusting the temperature thereof, and means for circulating the air through the chamber to be conditioned. In the claims the expression air" is intended to include atmospheric air and gases or vapors of all kinds, such as oxygen, nitrogen, fiue gases, etc. It is to be understood also that the humidifier may increase or decrease the moisture content of the air or other gas.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating the flow of air in the process of the invention according to one embodiment thereof;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of one embodiment of the apparatus of the invention;

Fig. 3 is an end view, partly in section, of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a food refrigerator embodying the apparatus of the invention.

' Referring to Fig. 1, the air to be conditioned is passed through a dehumidifier A, a deodorizer B, a heat-exchanger C and through the chamber D which is to be conditioned. A blower F is provided to form a current of the air so that it is circulated through the several conditioning '20 means and through the chamber D, the blower being located at anyconvenient point. A fresh air inlet G may be provided at a suitable point in comprise a conduit l0 positioned in such proximity to the evaporator H of a refrigerating apparatus that moisture in the air passing through the conduit will be condensed on the inner surfaces thereof. This conduit it! may be made detachable from the remainder of the apparatus so that when it becomes clogged with ice it may be removed and heated to melt the ice. One end of the conduit l0 comprises the inlet port for the air to be conditioned and the opposite end communicateswith the deodorizer. I r 5 For deodorizing the air there is employed an adsorbent such for example as silica gel, activated carbon and the like. In the 'now preferred embodiment of the apparatus, the apparatus comprises a deodorizer consisting of a conduit I2 packed with a mass ll of dry activated carbon and provided at each end with a porous filter M of suitable material such as glass wool, fibres, wire mesh to keepthe mass 13 from being dislodged by the air current.

The air circulating means comprises a fan i 5 located between the deodorizer and the heat exchanger. In that embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the air from the conduit I2 passes through a conduit 16 provided with a blower l5 which is positioned to direct the conditioned air over the evaporator II. The evaporator i comprises cooling coils (not shown) which are connected with a suitable refrigerating unit of conventional type designated generally as R in Fig. 4, and which may employ as cooling agent brine, ammonia or other suitable refrigerant.

The apparatus of the invention may be positioned outside or inside the chamber to be refrigerated. In Fig. 4 there is shown a food refrigerator for home use comprising a refrigerating food storage chamber D having insulated Walls and a door IT. The air conditioning apparatus of the invention is conveniently located inside the chamber D' and comprises a dehumidifier A, a deodorizer B and cooling means C and air circulating means F, all of the type illustrated in Fig. 2. The evaporator II is connected with the refrigerating unit R and encloses ice trays l8 of the conventional type, as shown in Fig. 3. Assuming that the chamber D contains various foods and foodstuffs which give oif objectional odors and moisture, the air laden with such odors 'and moisture will'be drawn into the dehumidifier comprising the conduit l0 and the moisture condensed. The dry air is next drawn through the deodorizer B comprising the "conduit l2 packed with a mass l3 of activated carbon which extracts the odors from the air current. The

air passes next through the conduit i6 and is forced by the blower 15 into direct contact with the evaporator Ii whereby the air is cooled. The dry, odorless, and cold air is then recirculated through the chamber without the danger of contaminating one of the foods with the objectional odors of another.

It is obvious that various changes may be made in the process and apparatus without transcending the scope of the invention. For example, the dehumidifier and deodorizer may be of any suitable shape and dimension taking into consideration the volume of air to be treated. For example, to save space in a food refrigerator for home use, the dehumidifier may be flattened against the evaporator as shown in Fig. 3 and provided with baffles ii! to force the air to traverse a circuitous path whereby the contact surface is increased.

.As shown in Fig. 3 the dehumidifier A comprising the conduit I0 is held against the side of the evaporator II by means of the engaging rim 20 and the spring clamp 2|; The conduit I0 may be removed by sliding it to the left in the apparatus as shown in Fig. 2. It is to be understood that the dehumidifier A may be omitted where the moisture content of the treated air is low or where the moisture content is substantially a constant as in a closed system. Since the conditioned air is blown by the blower F into direct contact with the evaporator this assists in keeping the moisture from condensing on the evaporator, as well as in promoting the heat exchange. The blower F serves the further important functions of maintaininga proper and uniform circulation in the chamber to be conditioned and in drawing or forcing air through the several conditioning means.

It is obvious that the air conditioning apparatus and method of the invention is applicable for conditioning various types of refrigerating chambers, such as refrigerators for home use in keeping foods, chambers for keeping special products of industry at a given humidity and temperature such for example, as milk, meat, seeds, flowers, hides, Cellophane, etc., also for conditioning the air in public rooms, auditoriums, and in vehicles of all kinds; homes, offices, shops and rooms where special industrial operations must be carried out in controlled conditions of humidity and temperature, as in paper making, textile finishing, solutions preparation, etc.

Since various changes may be made and various applications may be made in the form of the apparatus and the uses of the process, it is to be understood that the appended claims cover all obvious embodiments of the invention and are not to be construed in a limited sense.

I claim:

1. The combination comprising a refrigerator cabinet having a food storage chamber, an evaporator arranged in said chamber, means for bringing the air of said food storage chamber into heat-exhange relation with said evaporator to dehumidify said air, means disposed in said chamber for absorbing odors from the air, means for directing the dehumidified air through said deodorizing means and means for directing air discharged from said deodorizing means into heatexchange relation with a portion of said evaporator for cooling said air.

2. In a process for conditioning the air in a refrigerator having a food storage chamber and an evaporator disposed therein, the steps comprising first directing the air from said food storage chamber over but not in direct contact with said evaporator to dehumidify said air, thereafter passing the dehumidified air into contact with a mass of dry activated carbon to deodor'ize said air. and, finally, directing the dehumidified and deodorized air into direct contact with said evaporator whereby the air is cooled and moisture is prevented from condensing on said evaporator.

MICHAEL M. JALMA. 

